Reef Keeping is Not a Hobby?

[PeterErc]

It’s a hobby,

Anyone ever successfully frag a dog or a cat? I can’t ever get them to stay on the frag plug, let alone in the tank.

 

[Kfactor]

for me i just like building things once am done the build i get bored after awile and sell it then build another one

 

[Almiti86]

Maintaining an aquarium and perfecting water quality in said aquarium is a hobby, along with collecting the latest and greatest hardware and equipment.

Buying fish, corals and invertebrates are pets you happen to keep in your hobby enclosure, they're live animals and they are pets, unless you sell livestock as a full time income then it is a business, but that's the only exception in my book.

I was doing some tank maintenance today and it was a bit of a challenge changing some things in my sump, I had to come up with a plan to get the results I want and I consider that part of the equation a hobby.

Then when my Florida conch popped up out of the sand for the first time in 6 months I got excited, called over my gf and said "Look!! He is still alive and doing well in there!". He's a pet and I was excited to see him pop out again, just my 2 cents.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

I thought about this again today. A hobby is something you can put away and get back to it when ever. No harm no foul. You can wait any amount of time to purchase what ever you need or want. No harm no foul. Reefing, you may be able to choose when and where you get your next coral or fish, but every thing else is a requirement you can't put off. You can't just put it away until your into it again. I is a life style not a hobby IMHO.

 

[KrisReef]

Hey Reefers! I discussed reefing in my recent video, and a viewer made a comment that resonated with me. That reef aquarium keeping is not a hobby. The premise is that when you get a dog or cat, etc., they are not a hobby. They are pets that require daily care and attention. I whole heartedly agree with that, and would like to further the discussion here.

Just because our aquatic friends cannot verbally communicate with us, does not mean they are not animals dependant on us for survival. Btw, coral ARE animals, not plants. What are your thoughts about this? Just a box of colorful decorations? Or animals that deserve and require our daily care? Happy Reefing!

Totally false.
Have you ever taken your reef for a walk?
Have you ever cleaned your corals litter box or picked up after their business on the lawn?

Corals are more like a habit like ******* and cocaine are. They take all sorts of money and are usually on your mind when you are at work and not having fun at home. They are the reason to live dangerously with 1000’s of gallons threatening your living room to break out of their tank and turn your house into a tide pool. No lapdog or kitty provides these levels of services and asks so little in return.

As others have mentioned, fish are sentient creatures and they can be pets if the reefer hand releases them into the tank and explains why they are now in a tank instead of the ocean. The fish keeper has rescued Nemo from the predators in the ocean and is going to provide them a good environment, as long as they don’t bite anyone or anything that puts a fin or hand in the tank.

So yes, fish can be pets but you have to establish that relationship. Usually they don’t jump up into your lap.

Edit (Reef2Reef spell check)
*********Wild partners

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Totally false.
Have you ever taken your reef for a walk?
Have you ever cleaned your corals litter box or picked up after their business on the lawn?

Corals are more like a habit like ******* and cocaine are. They take all sorts of money and are usually on your mind when you are at work and not having fun at home. They are the reason to live dangerously with 1000’s of gallons threatening your living room to break out of their tank and turn your house into a tide pool. No lapdog or kitty provides these levels of services and asks so little in return.

As others have mentioned, fish are sentient creatures and they can be pets if the reefer hand releases them into the tank and explains why they are now in a tank instead of the ocean. The fish keeper has rescued Nemo from the predators in the ocean and is going to provide them a good environment, as long as they don’t bite anyone or anything that puts a fin or hand in the tank.

So yes, fish can be pets but you have to establish that relationship. Usually they don’t jump up into your lap.

Edit (Reef2Reef spell check)
*********Wild partners

I don't have that problem with my fish....lol

 

[Propane]

Having a dog is not a hobby it’s a relationship but training them to run an obstacle course is. I kinda feel as though it is a hobby but not in the way that building an engine is. There are live animals involved and that should be respected and I feel as though too many people treat the animals as a commodity.

 

[AustinBabler]

Totally false.
Have you ever taken your reef for a walk?
Have you ever cleaned your corals litter box or picked up after their business on the lawn?

Corals are more like a habit like ******* and cocaine are. They take all sorts of money and are usually on your mind when you are at work and not having fun at home. They are the reason to live dangerously with 1000’s of gallons threatening your living room to break out of their tank and turn your house into a tide pool. No lapdog or kitty provides these levels of services and asks so little in return.

As others have mentioned, fish are sentient creatures and they can be pets if the reefer hand releases them into the tank and explains why they are now in a tank instead of the ocean. The fish keeper has rescued Nemo from the predators in the ocean and is going to provide them a good environment, as long as they don’t bite anyone or anything that puts a fin or hand in the tank.

So yes, fish can be pets but you have to establish that relationship. Usually they don’t jump up into your lap.

Edit (Reef2Reef spell check)
*********Wild partners

Yes! Corals are like a drug addiction and I’m totally addicted lol. The fish are cool. The pair of clowns I have now are pretty personable. If they could survive out of water I’m sure they’d be in my lap lol. All and all the best part of the whole ordeal is having a small slice of Fiji in my house and I don’t have to take a crazy long flight to get to it. I’d say the research part is the hobby and the actual husbandry part is way of life.

 

[argiBK]

Here’s a similar thread:

Thread 'Fish.. are they your pets or decoration?'
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fish-are-they-your-pets-or-decoration.1006551/

I don’t think pet or hobby are mutually exclusive of each other in this case. Fish are living creatures in our care, they’re sentient to a degree and have responses to our actions and have some capacity to have relationships with us.

Corals/inverts might skew towards plant husbandry for me, many plants have specific requirements for success, some even more so than a lot of the corals we keep.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Hey Reefers! I discussed reefing in my recent video, and a viewer made a comment that resonated with me. That reef aquarium keeping is not a hobby. The premise is that when you get a dog or cat, etc., they are not a hobby. They are pets that require daily care and attention. I whole heartedly agree with that, and would like to further the discussion here.

Just because our aquatic friends cannot verbally communicate with us, does not mean they are not animals dependant on us for survival. Btw, coral ARE animals, not plants. What are your thoughts about this? Just a box of colorful decorations? Or animals that deserve and require our daily care? Happy Reefing!

A hobby is something you can do whoever you wish, stuff in a cupboard and come back weeks or years later.

Fish are an obligation and thus rate higher than hobbies, just like children

 

[elysics]

I think there's a third category besides pets and decorations: specimens.

Creatures under your control that you don't have for their emotional value to you, but because they are interesting in their behaviour or looks. Playing god as they say, running your experiments, seeing what you are able to create. Watching them do their thing.

Fish and shrimp can somewhat do tricks, recognize you, eat out of your hand etc, but corals do none of that. They don't care about you, they live in their own world.

 

[StatelineReefer]

Fish and shrimp can somewhat do tricks, recognize you, eat out of your hand etc, but corals do none of that. They don't care about you, they live in their own world.

Have you ever met a cat?

 

[Reefer Matt]

Have you ever met a cat?

We are their pets.

 

[StatelineReefer]

We are their pets.

Dogs have owners, fish have keepers, cats have staff...

 

[Reefer Matt]

I think a better way for me to think of Reefing is that it is more than a hobby. It may start out like an ant farm, but morphs into something more meaningful. Though not applicable to all, it certainly is for me.

I don't have reef tanks simply because I enjoy having the animals. I enjoy everything about reefing, even you, the Reefers. And on the days that I don't enjoy everything about it, I still do what I must to keep the animals thriving. Though I make mistakes and get lax sometimes, I won't ever discard reefing like a collection of matchbox cars I no longer want.

I have always been fascinated with the ocean. As a child, I fantasized about swimming with the dolphins and whales. (Maybe Seaworld had something to do with it) But I wanted to become an oceanographer or marine biologist. However life didn't take me there, so this is my next best thing.

 

[StatelineReefer]

(Maybe Seaworld had something to do with it)

This is not the ringing endorsement of animal welfare and proper care that we, as reefkeepers, want to exemplify.

 

[Reefer Matt]

This is not the ringing endorsement of animal welfare and proper care that we, as reefkeepers, want to exemplify.

Oh, I understand that. And am not endorsing it. However, I was taken there as a child and enjoyed it. And that facility was later closed. We don't always have to vilify experiences we have because of future guilt. We can still learn from them.

 

[NCsalt]

I love my reef tank, but its a hobby.

 

[MnFish1]

Hey Reefers! I discussed reefing in my recent video, and a viewer made a comment that resonated with me. That reef aquarium keeping is not a hobby. The premise is that when you get a dog or cat, etc., they are not a hobby. They are pets that require daily care and attention. I whole heartedly agree with that, and would like to further the discussion here.

Just because our aquatic friends cannot verbally communicate with us, does not mean they are not animals dependant on us for survival. Btw, coral ARE animals, not plants. What are your thoughts about this? Just a box of colorful decorations? Or animals that deserve and require our daily care? Happy Reefing!

I agree it's not a 'hobby' - which to me is something like 'stamp collecting' that you can start or stop with no ill effects. Whereas keeping type of reef tank is more of a commitment-type effort.

Having said that, doing DIY projects, trying different products, etc - is a hobby, as it's not required to, for example, build your own roller mat. Just like with Keeping and showing dogs. Keeping the dog is not (IMHO) a 'hobby', however showing the dog may be considered a hobby.

 

[Alexraptor]

Here's another thought. If reef tanks are a hobby because we are maintaining a system and collecting living things, when then does it stop being a hobby and becomes just pet keeping? What about paludariums housing amphibians and a small ecosystem to support them? What about reptile enclosures with living vegetation? What about hamsters in a cage?

I think this line of thought illustrates quite well the problem with labeling any kind of animal keeping as "a hobby".